Papers
3
Total Citations
71
H-Index
3
About
D. Lexer’s research sits at the vital intersection of dairy science, animal welfare, and precision livestock farming. Her work focuses on understanding how modern milking technologies—specifically automatic milking systems (robots) versus conventional herringbone parlours—affect the behaviour, physiology, and social dynamics of dairy cows. A key contribution is her detailed analysis of how milking system design influences cow time budgets, adrenocortical activity (a measure of stress), and social hierarchy. Her most cited paper (42 citations) directly compares milking performance in Brown Swiss and Austrian Simmental cows across these two systems. In a highly cited follow-up study (24 citations), she demonstrated the intricate interrelationships between a cow’s social rank, its time budget, and its stress hormone levels in robotic versus conventional systems, revealing that social dominance can significantly shape an individual’s experience of automated milking. By linking practical milking technology to fundamental animal behaviour and stress physiology, Lexer’s work provides essential evidence for designing housing and management systems that better accommodate the natural social and behavioural needs of dairy cattle, ultimately contributing to more welfare-friendly and efficient dairy production.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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